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I looked around wildly, seeing the crowd go out of control. Then everything happened within seconds. Four alphas charged at Markus and Lio. I screamed, running to James and trying to pull the shackles off to free him.

“Leave him alone!” roared Lio’s father, Jatix, from the crowd.

With my hand on the burning manacle, I turned to see Jatix transform into his werewolf form along with his pack, Shawn and Silus. Three fully grown alpha werewolves had jumped to the front of the angry crowd, blocking them from getting to Lio.

I gasped when I saw my dad, Grant, also running through the crowd to get to me. He shifted midair into his werewolf form while the rest of my fathers followed suit. Grant stood directly in front of James and I.

Ten alpha werewolves now against a mob of over one hundred.

“What in tarnation is going on?” shouted King Armon.

But it wasn’t over.

I heard a loud whistle and turned to see a league of vampires led by Volgriff, wearing loincloths and carrying metal weaponry, rushing toward us. There were holding axes, knives, and even bows and arrows. Volgriff shouted a war cry, and shivers went down my spine.

An all-out war was about to happen, and I could do nothing to stop it.

“Fuck you!” screamed an alpha from the crowd. “Kill’em.”

Shouts and screams erupted as the vampires, the Frostcrown Pack and Lustfur Pack, joined forces against the people of Howl’s Edge. Bodies were being hurled everywhere, and blood spilled all over the sand. The vampires dodged the frenzied attacks with uncanny agility, retaliating with lightning-fast strikes. Fangs clashed against claws as both sides unleashed their centuries-old animosity upon each other.

“Get yourself to safety,” croaked James. “Leave me be.”

“No,” I whined, trying to pull the manacle off his wrist, but it was futile. My fingers were burning from the hot metal resting under the sun for hours. Then Volgriff charged up to the platform to where we were.

“Move aside, omega,” he commanded me with an axe in his hand. I moved, and he hacked off the manacles restraining James. Chaos still raged behind me, and I could hear howls, barks, and whistles from the island's two most powerful alpha packs.

“No!” shouted the executioner, and in a split second, a wooden stake was sticking out of Volgriff’s chest.

The executioner had killed the vampire leader. I gasped as Volgriff dropped to the ground, clutching his chest. I didn’t care about Volgriff dying, but I cared about James’s feelings.

James roared, and the chains on him clanged loudly as they dropped to the ground. He charged at the executioner, wrapping his fingers around his pudgy throat. The executioner gazed in horror at the vampire in front of him. James ripped his head off in seconds and tossed the bloody head to the ground.

I flinched and turned away from the gruesome scene.

I saw my father Grant in his brown fur and Jatix in white fur fighting back to back at anyone trying to get to their children, Lio and myself. I was scared for Wesley since he wasn’t much of a fighter, but Sam had his back, and he was a powerful machine gnashing his teeth at anyone who tried to come near.

The crowd was too much for them, though, and even for the king, who was rushing around trying to restore peace. He was surrounded by huge delta guards for safety. It was only a matter of time before all of the vampires were crushed.

Running over to James, I stopped in my tracks when I saw him having a last moment with Volgriff as he lay dying. James was kneeling at the side of Volgriff’s body, and I watched as Volgriff handed James his stone necklace with the pendant of a fang.

I hesitantly walked over to James and placed my hand on his bare shoulder. James's wrists were bloody as he stood up and encased my face with his hands. The look of grief on his face was visible. In the midst of the turmoil, our eyes locked. Time seemed to slow as our gazes held, and for a brief moment, the world ceased to exist around us.

“If we die, I need to do this. One last time,” growled James.

Then he kissed me in the middle of the battle. His lips brushed against mine, gentle yet demanding, and my heart skipped a beat. His tears and my tears combined as he kissed me with his entire soul. I could feel it in his lips. My eyes closed, absorbing the feeling of his rough hands encasing my face. Protecting me from the world. Our lips meshed as one as we cried together, holding each other.

When we pulled away, there was silence. Utter silence.

I looked at the crowd, at the alphas and the vampires, and saw that they were all watching us. They had all watched us kiss. A kiss that stunned everyone. King Armon looked baffled as he walked up to us. James’s eyes narrowed into slits as he pushed me behind him, standing in front of me protectively.

“This is unbelievable,” said King Armon.

“Kill her too!” shouted someone, but Armon raised his hand, silencing him.

“Do you love this vampire?” he asked me. I stepped around James despite him clutching my hand in warning.

“I do, until the day I die,” I said, my heart pumping fast with everyone watching. “If you kill him, you’ll have to kill me too.”